actuators are disposed between a lower wiring substrate and an upper wiring substrate. The actuators, the lower wiring substrate, and the upper wiring substrate are interposed between a lower frame and an upper frame. The end of each actuator is held between pushing parts of the lower frame and upper frame. The free ends of the actuators move projections upward that are displayed in a tactile display.
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1. A tactile display device comprising:
a casing including a lower frame and an upper frame attached to each other, the lower frame having lower pushing parts provided on an inner surface thereof, and the upper frame having upper pushing parts provided on an inner surface thereof;
a plurality of projection members configured to protrude from the surface of the casing, the plurality of projection members forming a tactile display;
a plurality of membrane actuators, each being displaceable in a thickness direction and configured to move corresponding one of the projection members to protrude from the surface of the casing, the plurality of membrane actuators being arranged such that respective surfaces thereof are in a plane intersecting with a projection direction of the projection members, each of the membrane actuators having first and second electrode layers disposed on upper and lower surfaces thereof, respectively;
a lower wiring substrate having a plurality of lower electrodes thereon, the lower wiring substrate being provided between the membrane actuators and the lower frame such that each of the lower electrodes is electrically connected to the second electrode layer of corresponding one of the membrane actuators at a base end thereof;
an upper wiring substrate having a plurality of upper electrodes thereon, the upper wiring substrate being provided between the membrane actuators and the upper frame such that each of the upper electrodes is electrically connected to the first electrode layer of the corresponding one of the membrane actuators at the base end thereof,
wherein the base ends of the membrane actuators are held between the lower pushing parts and the corresponding upper pushing parts.
2. The tactile display device according to
the lower wiring substrate includes a flexible substrate and deformable connecting parts,
the upper wiring substrate includes a flexible substrate and deformable connecting parts, and
the connecting parts of the lower wiring substrate are interposed between the base ends of the membrane actuators and the lower pushing parts, and the connecting parts of the upper wiring substrate are interposed between the base ends of the membrane actuators and the upper pushing parts.
3. The tactile display device according to
at least one of the lower frame and the upper frame is integrated with a resilient part, and
the lower pushing parts or the upper pushing parts are disposed on the resilient part.
4. The tactile display device according to
a plurality of housing portions provided on the inner surface of at least one of the lower frame and the upper frame,
wherein the membrane actuators are disposed inside the housing portions such that movement of the membrane actuators in a width direction is restricted.
5. The tactile display device according to
6. The tactile display device according to
7. The tactile display device according to
8. The tactile display device according to
9. The tactile display device according to
10. The tactile display device according to
11. The tactile display device according to
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This application is a Continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2010/054421 filed on Mar. 16, 2010. The entire contents of each application noted above are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tactile display device having a tactile display constituted of a plurality of projections and, specifically, relates to a tactile display device that facilitates the wiring for actuators moving the projections.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tactile display devices with a tactile display from which projections selectively protrude are used as Braille cells, which are means for transmitting information for the visually impaired.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 2001-147637 and 2007-71977 describe techniques related to Braille cells. Such a Braille cell has a plurality of holes in an area for contact that comes into contact with the user's finger. Detection pins are placed inside the holes in a retractable manner. Piezoelectric bimorph elements are provided as actuators. The piezoelectric bimorph elements are fixed at the ends, and the other ends are opposed to the bottom of the detection pins. At least one of the actuators is selected, and electricity is supplied thereto. Upon receiving electricity, the actuators bend, causing the corresponding detection pins to protrude due to the bending force of the actuators.
A predetermined number of detection pints, which each correspond to a Braille dot, represents a single Braille letter. Letter information can be obtained by running a finger across the Braille letter.
The actuators of the Braille cells described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 2001-147637 and 2007-71977 are composed of piezoelectric bimorph elements, and each actuator includes piezoelectric elements that operate corresponding detection pins and stacked in a thickness direction. Thus, the thickness is significantly large.
Since the piezoelectric elements are stacked in the thickness direction, the electrodes of the piezoelectric elements have to be wired three-dimensionally. As a result, assembly is complicated, and a large space is required for wiring, causing an increase in the size of the apparatus.
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing a thin tactile display device that achieves the small thickness by a planar arrangement of flexible membrane actuators and that facilitates the wiring to the actuators.
The present invention provides a tactile display device including a casing including a lower frame and an upper frame attached to each other; a plurality of projections configured to protrude from the surface of the casing; and a plurality of membrane actuators configured to move the projections such that the projections protrude from the surface of the casing wherein the plurality of projections forms a tactile display, wherein each of the actuators has electrode layers disposed on upper and lower surfaces thereof and is displaceable in a thickness direction, the plurality of actuators are arranged in a plane such that the surfaces of the actuators intersect with a projection direction of the projections, lower pushing parts are disposed on the lower frame, upper pushing parts are disposed on the upper frame, a lower wiring substrate is interposed between ends of the actuators and the lower pushing parts, an upper wiring substrate is interposed between the ends of the actuators and the upper pushing parts, the ends of the actuators are interposed between the lower pushing parts and the upper pushing parts, and a plurality of electrodes disposed on the lower wiring substrate and a plurality of electrodes disposed on the upper wiring substrate are electrically connected to the electrode layers of the actuators.
The tactile display device according to the present invention has a thin casing because the membrane actuators are arranged on a plane intersecting with the projection direction of the projections. Driving signals can be applied to the electrode layers of the actuators through the use of a maximum of two substrates, i.e., the lower wiring substrate and the upper wiring substrate. Since flat wiring is possible, the space required for wiring in the casing is thin.
Since the lower wiring substrate and the upper wiring substrate are interposed between the lower pushing parts and the upper pushing parts and are pushed against the ends of the actuators, the electrodes of the lower pushing parts and the electrodes of the upper pushing parts can be disposed closely in contact with the electrode layers of the actuators. The electrodes of the lower pushing parts and upper pushing parts and the ends of the actuators are less likely to be misaligned even without bonding the upper wiring substrate and the upper frame and bonding the lower pushing part and the lower frame.
In the present invention, the lower wiring substrate and the upper wiring substrate may include flexible substrates, the lower wiring substrate and the upper wiring substrate may have deformable connecting parts, and the connecting parts may be interposed between the ends of the actuators and the lower pushing parts and between the ends of the actuators and the upper pushing parts.
The flexible lower wiring substrate and upper wiring substrate easily transmits the clamping force of the upper pushing parts of the upper frame and the lower pushing parts of the lower frame from the wiring substrate to the actuators, and thus, the actuators can be firmly held.
In the present invention, it is preferable that at least one of the lower frame and the upper frame be integrated with a resilient part, and the lower pushing parts or the upper pushing parts be disposed on the resilient part.
With the above-described structure, the ends of the actuators, the lower wiring substrate, and the upper wiring substrate are held between the lower pushing parts and the upper pushing parts by a resilient force. The deformation of the resilient parts absorbs errors in the sizes of the various parts in the cases and the sizes of the ends of the actuators. The actuators are stably held even when the actuators are driven and when an external force acts upon the actuators.
In the present invention, a plurality of storage parts may be disposed on at least one of the lower frame and the upper frame, and the actuators may be disposed inside the storage parts such that the movement of the actuators is limited in the width direction.
With the above-described structure, relatively small membrane actuators can be positioned inside storage parts for assembly. Thus, assembly is easy.
In the present invention, an area of the lower pushing parts holding the ends of the actuators preferably differs from an area of the upper pushing parts holding the ends of the actuators.
With the above-described configuration, a reduction in the opposing areas of the upper pushing parts and the lower pushing parts can be easily prevented even if the relative positions of the upper pushing parts and the lower pushing parts are displaced in the surface direction of the actuators, and problems can be solved, such as the jamming of an actuator between the corresponding displaced upper pushing part and the corresponding lower pushing part.
In the present invention, the area of the lower pushing parts holding the ends of the actuators may be larger than the area of the upper pushing parts holding the ends of the actuators.
With the above-described configuration, the resistance of the clamping structure of each end can be reduced when the actuators deform in a direction pushing the projections.
In the present invention, for example, the actuators are polymeric actuators containing ionic liquid.
In such a case, it is preferable that the electrodes have conductive layers containing carbon. If each electrode has a conductive layer containing carbon, the contact resistance with the corresponding polymer actuator can be reduced, and the contact resistance can be maintained because the electrode is chemically stable. The contact resistance can be especially reduced when the electrode layers of the polymer actuators are composed of carbon materials. The metal wiring layers of the wiring substrates can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the polymer actuators, and the ionic liquid easily prevents the wiring layer from altering.
The membrane actuators according to the present invention is not limited to a polymer actuator and, instead, may be other soft actuators or piezoelectric elements.
The lower wiring substrate and the upper wiring substrate according to the present invention are independent substrates. Instead, the lower wiring substrate and the upper wiring substrate may be one body composed of a flexible substrate.
The tactile display device according to the present invention can have a small thickness and can be handled easily. The structure of the wires to the actuators can be simplified, and the space in the casing required for wiring can be extremely thin.
A tactile display device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as a Braille cell that provides information to the visually impaired.
As illustrated in
The dot driving unit 30 is interposed between a lower wiring substrate 40 and an upper wiring substrate 50 and is accommodated inside the casing. The lower frame 10 and the upper frame 20 are both composed of synthetic resin and are fixed to each other with a plurality of fixing screws.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Instead of the configuration illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
One dot matrix represents one Braille letter. The user can obtain information in sequence on six different Braille letters by running his/her finger across the contact surface 20a of the upper frame 20 in the X1 direction.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the actuator 32, the plate surface 34a of the first electrode layer 34 is exposed on the Z1 side, and the plate surface 35a of the second electrode layer 35 is exposed on the Z2 side. The length and width of the plate surface 34a and the plate surface 35a of the actuator 32 are sufficiently greater than the thickness of the actuator 32.
For example, if there is a potential difference across the first electrode layer 34 and the second electrode layer 35 and the number of cations in the electrolyte layer 33 is larger than the number of anions, the cations are deflected toward the second electrode layer 35 if the first electrode layer 34 is positively charged, and thus, the second electrode layer 35 swells largely. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The first middle actuator 32a opposes the corresponding projection 31 at the middle in the first column V1, and the second middle actuator 32b opposes the projection 31 at the middle in the second column V2. The first end actuator 32c opposes the projection 31 at the Y1 end in the first column V1, and the second end actuator 32d opposes the projection 31 at the Y2 end in the first column V1. In the second column V2, the third end actuator 32e opposes the projection 31 at the Y1 end, and the fourth end actuator 32f opposes the projection 31 at the Y2 end.
As illustrated in
The obliquely arranged first middle actuator 32a and the second middle actuator 32b prevent the Y1-Y2 pitch of the three projections 31 in the first column V1 and the three projections 31 in the second column V2 from increasing unnecessarily. Moreover, the middle actuators 32a and 32b can be configured with a large width.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The cut-off parts 37a illustrated in
As described above, the intervals between the projections 31 in a single dot matrix does not have to be increased unnecessarily, and the dots to be displayed can be disposed at a pitch conforming to Braille standards. Moreover, the widths of the actuators 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, 32e, and 32f can be increased, and the driving force of the actuators can be increased.
In adjacent dot matrices M1 and M2, the first middle actuator 32a of the first dot matrix M1 and the second middle actuator 32b of the second dot matrix M2 extend obliquely to the columns and rows. The center axis O1 of the first middle actuator 32a and the center axis O2 of the second middle actuator 32b are parallel to each other, and the first middle actuator 32a and the second middle actuator 32b are aligned along the column direction, i.e., the Y1-Y2 direction. As a result, the adjacent dot matrices M1 and M2 do not have to be disposed apart in the X direction, and the distance between the adjacent matrices can be optimized to conform to the Braille standards.
The end 36 of the first middle actuator 32a opposes one of the cut-off parts 37a of the fourth end actuator 32f in the adjacent dot matrix, and the end 36 of the second middle actuator 32b opposes one of the cut-off parts 37a of the first end actuator 32c in the adjacent dot matrix. In this way, the length of the middle actuators 32a and 32b can be increased while adjacent dot matrices are disposed at an optimal distance apart from each other in the X direction. As a result, the length of every actuator 32 can be increased, enabling a large protrusion stroke of the projections 31.
As illustrated in
A center protrusion 23 protruding downward (in the Z2 direction) from the ceiling 20b is integrated with the upper frame 20 at the middle in the width direction (Y1-Y2 direction).
The center protrusion 23 has an oblique guide 23a, which tilts from the X and Y directions, and an opposing guide 23b, which opposes the oblique guide 23a. The area interposed between the oblique guide 23a and the opposing guide 23b serves as a first middle storage part 24a. One of the holes 21 is formed at one of the ends of the first middle storage part 24a. An upper pushing part 25a protrudes form the end opposite to the hole 21. Similarly, an oblique guide 23c, which tilts from the X and Y directions, and an opposing guide 23d are integrated with the center protrusion 23. A second middle storage part 24b is provided in the area interposed between the oblique guide 23c and the opposing guide 23d. Although one of the holes 21 is formed at one of the ends of the second middle storage part 24b, and an upper pushing part 25b is integrated with and protrudes form the other end.
Two internal threads 23e and 23e are formed in the area interposed between the first middle storage part 24a and the second middle storage part 24b of the center protrusion 23.
Three end guide protrusions 26a, 26b, and 26c are provided downward on the Y1 side of the upper frame 20 across from the center protrusion 23 along the X direction at predetermined intervals, and three end guide protrusions 27a, 27b, and 27c are provided on the Y2 side along the X direction at predetermined intervals.
A first end storage part 24c is interposed between an end guide protrusion 26a and an end guide protrusion 26b. A hole 21 is formed at the Y2 end part of the first end storage part 24c, and an upper pushing part 25c is provided at the Y1 end part. A second end storage part 24d is interposed between an end guide protrusion 27a and an end guide protrusion 27b. Another one of the holes 21 is formed at the Y1 end part of the second end storage part 24d, and an upper pushing part 25d is provided at the Y2 end part. A third end storage part 24e is interposed between the end guide protrusion 26a and the end guide protrusion 26c. The third end storage part 24e has another one of the holes 21 and an upper pushing part 25e. A fourth end storage part 24f is interposed between the end guide protrusion 27a and the end guide protrusion 27c. The fourth end storage part 24f has another one of the holes 21 and an upper pushing part 25f.
The upper wiring substrate 50 is a synthetic resin-based flexible substrate. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The leads 54a, 54b, 54c, and so on may be copper and silver patterns. The electrodes 55a, 55b, 55c, and so on each include a conductive layer composed of a binder resin containing carbons, such as carbon nanotubes and/or carbon graphite. The electrodes 55a, 55b, 55c, and so on are disposed over lands integrated with the corresponding leads 54a, 54b, 54c, and so on.
As illustrated in
By mounting the upper wiring substrate 50 on the ceiling 20b of the upper frame 20, every first middle connecting part 53a on the upper wiring substrate 50 fits between the corresponding end guide protrusion 27b and the adjacent end guide protrusion 27c of the upper frame 20, and the electrode 55a at the tip is disposed over the corresponding upper pushing part 25a of the upper frame 20. Every second middle connecting part 53b fits between the corresponding end guide protrusion 26a and the end guide protrusion 26c, and the electrode 55b at the tip is disposed over the corresponding upper pushing part 25b. The second middle connecting part 53 positioned at the X2 end is not interposed between end guide protrusions, and the electrode 55b at the tip is disposed over the upper pushing part 25b.
The electrode 55c mounted on the first end connecting part 53c of the upper wiring substrate 50 is disposed over the upper pushing part 25c of the upper frame 20. Similarly, the electrode 55d of the second end connecting part 53d is disposed over the upper pushing part 25d; the electrode 55e of the third end connecting part 53e is disposed over the upper pushing part 25e; and the electrode 55f of the fourth end connecting part 53f is disposed over the upper pushing part 25f.
After all projections 31 are fit into the corresponding holes 21, and the upper wiring substrate 50 is mounted on the ceiling 20b of the upper frame 20, the actuators 32 are attached to the upper frame 20. The first middle actuator 32a is stored in the first middle storage part 24a of the upper frame 20. At this time, the plate surface 34a (see
The first middle actuator 32a is roughly positioned between the oblique guide 23a and the opposing guide 23b such that it can be easily mounted to the upper frame 20. Parts other than the end 36 and the tip 37 of the first middle actuator 32a are disposed such that they are preferably not in contact with the oblique guide 23a, the opposing guide 23b, and other components and such that sliding resistance does not occur during driving.
The second middle actuator 32b is stored in the second middle storage part 24b of the upper frame 20. In this state, the plate surface 34a of the end 36 is in contact with the electrode 55b mounted on the second middle connecting part 53b of the upper wiring substrate 50, and the tip 37 is in contact with the corresponding pushed part 31b of the projection 31.
The first end actuator 32c is mounted in the first end storage part 24c of the upper frame 20. The plate surface 34a of the end 36 is in contact with the electrode 55c of the first end connecting part 53c of the upper wiring substrate 50. The tip 37 of the first end actuator 32c is in contact with the corresponding pushed part 31b of the projection 31. Similarly, the second end actuator 32d is mounted in the second end storage part 24d; the third end actuator 32e is mounted in the third end storage part 24e; and the fourth end actuator 32f is mounted in the fourth end storage part 24f. The plate surfaces 34a of the ends 36 of the end actuator 32d, 32e, and 32f are in contact with the electrodes 55d, 55e, and 55f, respectively. The tip 37 is in contact with the pushed part 31b of each projection 31.
The end actuators 32c, 32d, 32e, and 32f are fit between the corresponding end guide protrusions 26a, 26b, 26c, 27a, 27b, and 27c, facilitating the mounting to the upper frame 20. The parts other than the ends 36 and the tips 37 of the end actuators 32c, 32d, 32e, and 32f are attached such that they preferably do not come into contact with the end guide protrusions 26a, 26b, 26c, 27a, 27b, and 27c and other members.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in the enlarged view in
As illustrated in
The lower frame 10 has a first end resilient part 12c and a third end resilient part 12e on the Y1 side. The free end of the first end resilient part 12c has a lower pushing part 13c, and the third end resilient part 12e has a lower pushing part 13e. A second end resilient part 12d and a fourth end resilient part 12f are disposed on the Y2 side. A lower pushing part 13d and a lower pushing part 13f are formed on the free ends of the second end resilient part 12d and the fourth end resilient part 12f, respectively.
As illustrated in
The lower wiring substrate 40 is a flexible substrate composed of a resin film. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A first end connecting part 43c and a third end connecting part 43e are disposed on the Y1 side of the notch 42. A second end connecting part 43d and a fourth end connecting part 43f are disposed on the Y2 side. Leads are provided on the Z1-side surfaces of the end connecting parts 43c, 43d, 43e, and 43f. The electrodes 45c, 45d, 45e, and 45f are disposed at the tips.
Similar to the leads on the upper wiring substrate 50, the leads on the lower wiring substrate 40 are corresponding copper and/or silver patterns. Similar to the electrodes 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d, 55e, and 55f of the upper wiring substrate 50, the electrodes 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, 45e, and 45f are composed of binder resin and carbons.
As illustrated in
As a result, the lower pushing part 13a of the first middle resilient part 12a in the lower frame 10 causes the tip of the first middle connecting part 43a of the lower wiring substrate 40 to push against the end 36 of the first middle actuator 32a. As a result, the electrode 45a at the tip of the first middle connecting part 43a pushes against the plate surface 35a of the second electrode layer 35 of the first middle actuator 32a. The lower pushing part 13b of the second middle resilient part 12b causes the tip of the second middle connecting part 43b of the lower wiring substrate 40 to push against the end 36 of the second middle actuator 32b.
At the same time, the lower pushing part 13c of the first end resilient part 12c in the lower frame 10 causes the first end connecting part 43c of the lower wiring substrate 40 to push against the end 36 of the first end actuator 32c. The lower pushing part 13d of the second end resilient part 12d, the lower pushing part 13e of the third end resilient part 12e, and the lower pushing part 13f of the fourth end resilient part 12f respectively cause the electrode 45d of the second end connecting part 43d, the electrode 45e of the third end connecting part 43e, and the electrode 45f of the fourth end connecting part 43f to push against the end 36 of the second end actuator 32d, the end 36 of the third end actuator 32e, and the end 36 of the fourth end actuator 32f, respectively.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The characteristics of the support structure of the actuator illustrated in
The tactile display device 1 first selects and pushes out the projections 31 in the first dot matrix M1, which are positioned at the holes 21 of the display section D1, which is illustrated in
Another Braille letter is displayed by driving the second dot matrix M2 in the second display section D2. Such driving is performed in sequence on the display sections D3, D4, D5, and D6. The user can obtain information by running his/her finger across the contact surface 20a in the X1 direction. Once the finger reaches the display section D6, the user can return his/her finger to the display section D1 and run his/her finger in the X1 direction again. By repeating this action, a large amount of Braille information can be obtained by the users, such as the visually impaired.
As illustrated in
Takahashi, Isao, Yamazaki, Seigo
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